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Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam retailers bristle at coercive rules

    Vietnam retailers bristle at coercive rules

    A draft law requiring all supermarkets in Vietnam to open through holidays and provide online sales and delivery services has angered retailers.

    They say rules cannot set for marketing strategies that are decided by businesses based on their own assessment of market conditions.

    The provision in the Decree of Development and Distribution Management, proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, will apply to retail outlets that have an area of at least 250 square meters (2,690 square feet), and malls with more than 10,000 square meters (over 107,600 square feet).

    The new rules also say supermarkets and malls can only have a maximum of three discount events a year, with 30 days at the most for each event, and 70 percent of all items must be discounted at such events.

    Supermarkets and malls also need to open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, including holidays. They must offer delivery service and online shopping to customers, the bill says.

    Whether a supermarket offers delivery service and online sales or not depends on the strategy that a business chooses to employ, said Dinh Thi My Loan, president of the Association of Vietnamese Retailers (AVR).

    The number of discount events and their nature should be for the retailers to decide, she stressed, adding that the regulation should be removed from the bill, she said.

    Experience from other countries in the region shows it is not practical for the government to pack too many goals into a draft law, she said, adding: “The stated goals are too broad and unconvincing.”

    Previously, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) also called this provision “coercive” in a letter sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    The bill intervenes too deeply in the right of businesses to operate the way they want, and does not engage with the larger picture of the distribution system in the country, the letter said.

    VCCI suggested that existing problems and potentials for the national distribution system should be studied in more detail before drafting new rules.

    The Ministry of Industry and Trade has said that it will continue to research and listen to suggestions while completing the draft law.

    As of last year, Vietnam had 800 supermarkets, 150 malls and 9,000 traditional markets, apart from 2.2 million or so convenient stores.

    Vietnam is considered an emerging market for retail expansion and was ranked 6th last year in the Global Retail Development Index by consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

  • Vietjet Partners with Shinhan Bankto Offer Cashback deals

    Vietjet Partners with Shinhan Bankto Offer Cashback deals

    Get ready to be infected by the travel bug as summer is soon to kick in full swing! For all you globetrotters out there, now’s your chance to make the most of your travel plans as Vietnamese carrier – Vietjet is offering irresistable cashback deals in celebration of the summer.

    Starting 8 June to 5 July 2018, Vietjet is partnering with Shinhan Bank to offer an amazing VND500,000 cashback for the first 400 card holders when a minimum of VND5,000,000 is spent on Vietjet tickets via Shinhan/ANZ credit cards.

    The promotion will be spread across four phases namely, 8 to 14 June; 15 to 21 June; 22 to 28 June and 29 June to 5 July 2018, with cashbacks offered to the first 100 early-bird customers who meet the promotion requirements. The cashback will be credited to the card holders’ payment accounts before 26 July 2018.

    An award-winning and pioneering airline, Vietjet is much loved by travelers for its exciting promotional and entertainment programs, especially during festive seasons. With high-quality services, diverse travel categories and special low-fare tickets, the airline offers its passengers memorable flying experiences on new aircrafts with comfy seats, delicious hot meals served by beautiful and friendly cabin crew, and many other interesting added-on services.

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  • Vietnamese coffee prices keep dipping

    Vietnamese coffee prices keep dipping

    Coffee prices in the Central Highlands have been decreasing since the beginning of the year, and are not likely to recover any time soon, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    The price stands at VND35,100–35,500 ($1.55-1.56) per kilogram, down VND400–600 from the end of last year.

    This is the lowest price in the last two months and Vietnamese farmers are holding on to their stock without selling, a ministry report said.

    It attributed the price to favorable weather in Brazil, the world’s top coffee exporter; and the start of a new season in Indonesia, another major producer and exporter.

    With global supply remaining high, a price rise is unlikely to happen soon.

    However, Vietnam still enjoyed a positive export situation in the first four months of the year, exporting 41,700 tons of coffee worth $161 million, an increase of 23.5 percent in volume and 19.6 percent in value.

    Germany and the U.S. remain the largest markets for Vietnamese coffee, respectively accounting for 13 and 11 percent of total exports, according to the agriculture ministry.

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  • Founder Bak Kut Teh lands in Vietnam

    Founder Bak Kut Teh lands in Vietnam

    Singapore’s pork ribs restaurant chain Founder Bak Kut Teh has opened its first outlet in Vietnam.

    Located on the ground floor of Ho Chi Minh City’s RomeA shopping centre in District 3, Founder Bak Kut Teh Vietnam offers the original Singapore menu.

    The brand’s founder Chua Chwee Whatt visited Vietnam for the grand opening and personally prepared the dishes for diners.

    Established in 1978, Founder Bak Kut Teh has two branches in Singapore and one in Jakarta, Indonesia.

    The brand launched in Vietnam under a franchise agreement with local Foodjoy company.

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  • World Bank raises 2018 growth forecast for Vietnam

    World Bank raises 2018 growth forecast for Vietnam

    Vietnam’s economy might expand by 6.8 percent this year, the World Bank (WB) says in a new report, revising upwards its previous forecast of 6.5 percent in April.

    It estimates GDP at 6.6 percent in 2019 and 6.5 percent in 2020.

    The bank explained its upward revision on better prospects for the expansion of agriculture and production for exports, continued inflow of foreign direct investment thanks to bright economic prospects.

    If the actual growth rate matches projection, it will be the same as last year, which was the highest in a decade.

    In the first quarter this year, the economy expanded 7.38 percent, also a 10-year record, thanks to the strong growth in agriculture, industry-construction and service sectors.

    In an interview in April, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had said Vietnam will maintain its current economic growth until 2020 by giving private firms more room to grow and driving positive change in rural areas.

    He said Vietnam will facilitate an economic environment conducive for private firms to thrive, noting that they account for 43 percent of the nation’s GDP.

    The Vietnamese government will help by developing new policies, distributing resources, encouraging the creation of new enterprises and giving firms more opportunities to use modern technologies, said Phuc.

    “We will try to put in place the most favorable policies and create the most favorable environment so that by 2020, we will have in operation over one million businesses, accounting for 50 percent of Vietnam’s GDP, up from 43 percent at present,” he’d said.

  • Vietnam a dream destination for expats

    Vietnam a dream destination for expats

    Getting a job is easy, cost of living is low, and quality of life is high.

    It sounded too good to be true, but Samantha Beukes decided to check the place out. Friends had been raving on Facebook about living the good life in Vietnam. It was true.

    When she first came to Vietnam from South Africa, Beukes spent a month traveling around the most famous destinations in the country.

    And then, almost effortlessly, the 25-year-old found a job that she was very happy with. Opportunities to work in Vietnam, she realized, were more easily available here than in her own country.

    The abundance of job opportunities in several fields that Vietnam needs to tap international expertise in has been attracting many expats from all over the world. Between 2004 and 2015, the number of foreigners working in the country surged by more than six times, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

    Vietnam has been named among the top 10 destinations for expats in the world in the 2018 Expat Insider survey of InterNations, a global expat network with 3.1 million members.

    An overwhelming majority – 81 percent – of surveyed expats described the Vietnamese people as welcoming, and 73 percent said it was easy to settle down in the country.

    Official data shows that there are now 83,500 expats working in the country, a number that has been increasing steadily since Vietnam launched its Doi Moi or renovation policy in 1986, firmly putting behind the long years of war and its aftermath.

    While many expats come here because finding jobs is very difficult for them back home, many are also drawn by the vibrant life they can enjoy even as they earn and save.

    High demand

    Vietnam’s rapid growth after years of relative isolation has also led to high demand for expertise in various areas, and this is most visible in the need for English teachers from kindergarten to university level.

    “Expats are just a quick Facebook search away from finding many high paid jobs, including teaching,” Samantha said. Currently, Samantha teaches at an international school, and four out of five foreigners she knows in the country are doing the same job.

    While English teaching jobs are most sought after by expats without much experience or advanced education, Vietnam also offers jobs aplenty in other sectors.

    Manufacturing, banking and retails are sectors that have a high demand for expats in the country, according to Ngo Thi Ngoc Lan, regional director of Navigos Search, which provides executive search services in Vietnam.

    In a survey by Navigos Group in 2017, 50 percent of business respondents in the retail sector said they had a policy to recruit foreigners. Among them, 56 percent of employers preferred candidates from Southeast Asia, and 22 percent from Europe, the survey found.

    Apart from the availability of jobs, high pay is another factor that lures many foreigners to the country. Expats in Vietnam made around $88,000 a year on average in 2017, according to the Expat Explorer survey done by London-based lender HSBC. Some 72 percent of expat respondents said they were able to save more money in Vietnam compared to other countries.

    “An expat is paid 30 to 50 percent more than a Vietnamese national,” Lan from Navigos said. In the areas of education and manufacturing, an expat can be paid two or three times higher than a Vietnamese employee to match the wages they would receive in their home country, she said.

    For high-ranking positions, businesses need to provide their expat workers with other perks like tuition fees for their children, rent, private driver and airfare travel for the whole family, Lan said.

    Comfortable lifestyle

    Given the low cost of living in Vietnam, the salary expats receive allow them to have a very comfortable life in the country.

    Having worked in Vietnam for over two years, Frenchman Benjamin Durand is very satisfied with the $2,500 paycheck he gets each month as a software engineer in Hanoi.

    This salary, which is roughly what an average Vietnamese makes a year, allows him to spend generously. In the weekends, Durand often goes climbing in the mountains around Hanoi or dancing in pubs where many foreigners gather to have fun. “Living in Vietnam is a great experience,” he said.

    ‘Live like a king’

    As of June 2018, the cost of living in two biggest cities in Vietnam are among the cheapest in the world, according to Numbeo, a collaborative online database which enables users to submit and compare living costs between cities.

    Hanoi ranks 7th and Ho Chi Minh City 9th in the index, with lower costs of living than Philippines’ Manila, Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur and Thailand’s Bangkok.

    Megan, an English tutor in Hanoi who asked that her last name is not used, spends only half what she used to in the United States. Furthermore, she is able to save much more in Vietnam than in South Korea, where she lived for a year before coming to Hanoi.

    “You can really live like a king or queen in Vietnam if you want to,” she said.

    In areas of expertise where expats are in high demand, local businesses compete to give them attractive benefits that most locals don’t get. Apollo English, one of the most popular English teaching brands in Vietnam with 30 facilities in the country, provides incentives like airfare to the country, free accommodation for the first week and assistance in getting visas and work permits.

    Cleverlearn, another English teaching center, offers its foreign teachers salaries of up to $2,000 a month. The center also promises to provide assistance to expat teachers in finding housing and other needs when they first come to Vietnam.

    Visible privilege

    While many businesses hire foreigners to meet actual demand for human resource, there are those which employ them for the mere purpose of marketing, taking advantage of Vietnamese people’s preference for all things foreign.

    Advertisement agencies often employ expats to promote a product as they believe the appearance of a foreigner, especially a Western one, will attract more customers.

    This preference might not be well placed, sociologists say. “Many Vietnamese think that foreigners are wealthy and skilled in their profession, but that’s not always true,” said Dr Trinh Hoa Binh, deputy secretary of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

    The phenomenon reflects a lack of confidence of Vietnamese people in their own distinct culture, Binh said. He added that when Vietnamese people are more educated, they will start to see the true value of foreign labor in the country.

    But for now, such perceptions don’t bother expats happily enjoying their lives and privilege in Vietnam.

    Samantha, the English teacher from South Africa, says Vietnam will continue to be her second home in the foreseeable future as she has a very satisfying income in a culture where people are friendly and work opportunities are abundant.

    “I know of people back in my country who want to come over for work too”, Samantha said.

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  • Vietnam considers blanket ban on import of cryptocurrency mining rigs

    Vietnam considers blanket ban on import of cryptocurrency mining rigs

    Vietnam’s Finance Ministry wants a complete ban on the import of cryptocurrency mining rigs, saying many of them are being used to launch new virtual currencies and forms of payment.

    Such operations are very difficult to regulate, the ministry says.

    The proposal for a blanket ban was made on Monday, with the ministry saying that the rigs were being used to try and create new currencies and forms of payment that were difficult to regulate.

    It referred to the fraud that happened in Saigon in April, when 32,000 people lost VND1.5 trillion after investing in a company mining iFan and Pincoin coins.

    Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had earlier called for strict management of all activities involving cryptocurrencies after many companies began trying to attract people into investing in new cryptocurrency ventures – Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

    As of April 2018, Vietnam had imported more than 6,300 crypto currency mining rigs, with 4,300 machines going to Hanoi and 2,009 to Saigon.

    In 2017, more than 9,300 cryptocurrency mining rigs were imported. Of these, 2,300 went to Hanoi, around 7,000 to Saigon, and the rest to Da Nang, the ministry said.

    Cryptocurrency is illegal in Vietnam.

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  • Most SE Asian stocks gain; Singapore, Indonesia up nearly 1 percent

    Most SE Asian stocks gain; Singapore, Indonesia up nearly 1 percent

    Most Southeast Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Singapore gaining nearly 1 percent as upbeat sentiment following positive U.S. jobs data pushed global equities higher.

    Asia ex-Japan shares rose 1 percent to their highest level since May 17.

    Data on Friday showed that U.S. job growth accelerated in May and unemployment rate dropped to an 18-year low.

    “We are following the bullish sentiment on Friday on U.S. after job data,” said Linus Loo, Head of research at Lim & Tan Securities.

    “Because we (South-east Asia) are export-driven, especially Singapore, we tend to track the U.S.,” he added.

    Singapore shares rose 0.9 percent in early trade. Financials drove gains, as heavyweights DBS Group Holdings and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp gained 1.2 percent each.

    Indonesian shares rose 0.8 percent led by financials and telecommunication stocks.

    Indonesia’s annual inflation rate in May was 3.41 percent, slightly below the median forecast of 3.28 percent in a Reuters poll, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday.

    An index of the country’s 45 most liquid stocks rose about 1.3 percent.

    Vietnam stocks rose as much as 0.9 percent, as materials and industrials extended gains from last week. Vietjet Aviation climbed nearly 7 percent while Vietcombank rose as much as 2.5 percent.

    Meanwhile, Philippine shares fell 0.9 percent, dragged lower by industrial on caution ahead of inflation data due on Tuesday.

    Philippine inflation likely accelerated for the fifth straight month in May, a Reuterspoll showed, but analysts were divided over when the central bank will again raise interest rates.

    Aboitiz Equity Ventures slumped 3.8 percent while SM Investments Corp fell 2.7 percent.

    Malaysian and Thai shares were largely unchanged in early trade.

  • Thailand, not Vietnam, is exporting ‘pho’ to the US

    Thailand, not Vietnam, is exporting ‘pho’ to the US

    Pho, the fragrant flat rice noodles soup served with beef or chicken, has given Vietnamese cuisine an iconic status. But the company making money by exporting an instant version of the soup to the US is based in Thailand.

    A representative of Charoen Pokphan Foods Plc (CPF) said at a recent meeting with Vietnamese businesses that the company’s Authentic Asian Chicken Pho Noodle Soup is enjoying great sales in the US.

    The number of restaurants that serve Vietnamese pho in the U.S. reached 8,900 in 2014 and is increasing, the CPF representative said, citing a study by the Institute for Immigration Research.

    Vietnamese businesses at the meeting were surprised that CPF’s factory in Thailand is able to produce 200,000 ready-to-eat pho products a day, using a workforce of just 10 workers.

    CPF said its factory in Thailand was powered by artificial intelligence, and the manufacturing process was completely automatic. Some production lines only require two workers operating via computers, the company said.

    This manufacturing process results in a “beautiful and easy-to-use package,” said Vu Kim Hanh, president of the Business Association of Vietnam High Quality Goods.

    With a shelf life of 18 months, CPF’s pho, which requires just two minutes in a microwave, is very convenient for customers, Hanh added.

    “Vietnam still needs to make many changes to catch up with its immediate Southeast Asian competitors in the agricultural products and foodstuffs industries,” she said.

    Currently, the number of businesses in Viet Nam’s fresh packed food market is still low, despite some new products from Saigon Food, which produces 100,000 packages each day.

    CJ Cau Tre offers cooked Vietnamese Hue noodle soup and spaghetti, and the Minh Hung group plans to use high pressure processing to produce fresh fruit juice.

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  • Vietnam cars geared for East European roads

    Vietnam cars geared for East European roads

    VinFast, the auto making subsidiary of real estate conglomerate Vingroup, will make cars suited to the domestic market first and target East Europe next.

    Built in automated facility that deploys more than a thousand robots, the cars will be of top quality, priced competitively and backed with attractive offers and good after sales service, group chairman Pham Nhat Vuong said at a recent shareholders meeting.

    Therefore, despite the presence of a number of big players in the domestic market, there was a good chance for cars produced by VinFast to succeed, he said.

    He noted that Hyundai, the South Korean carmaker, was able to gain 10 percent of the US market share in a very short period, and VinFast was well placed to emulate such a feat.

    Vuong stressed that the VinFast production line has a high degree of automation.

    “Its body shop has a fully automated spot welding system with more than 1,200 robots in service.

    Parts like crankshaft and transmission are also automatically manufactured, ensuring the car’s quality, and making engine run smoothly,” Vuong explained.

    While promoting the cars in both domestic and foreign markets, the focus will be on “down-to-earth” consumers looking for value for their money, the chairman said.

    VinFast will have a very good chance to compete well with carmakers in Eastern Europe as Vingroup understands this market very well, Vuong said. The group chairman is a former long-term resident of the former Soviet Union.

    Vuong said automobile production will be the company’s spearhead in the coming time, but did not rule out the possibility of other products once the brand was well established.

    “Given our supporting ecosystem and great capabilities, it [heavy industry] will be a new horizon for Vingroup,” said the chairman, who’s one among a handful of Vietnamese billionaires.

    Last September, Vingroup broke ground on its subsidiary VinFast’s new car manufacturing complex in the northern port city of Hai Phong. The complex would start manufacturing electric scooters in 12 months, sedans and SUVs in 24 months and electric cars in 3 years. By 2025, VinFast is expected to be producing 500,000 cars a year, making it a leading automobile manufacturer in Southeast Asia.

    The company will be working with German partners in product development and management of the new manufacturing complex. Its cars will be designed by Italian design houses, while main components such as engines will be bought in from the U.S. and European companies.

    However, VinFast will still cooperate with Vietnamese companies to manufacture most car accessories. The company’s products will have a localization rate of 60 percent, making them qualify for tax incentives when exported to other countries in the region.

    The new complex, which would also include a research and development (R&D) center, is expected to attract European experts, and will be cooperating with many large R&D centers in Europe. The company will be using technology transfer contracts to help improve its expertise in product development.

    Its cars will use eco-friendly technologies to meet Euro 5.0 and Euro 6.0 emission standards. VinFast will also be using green energy in its factories and plans to invest in a facility to treat used batteries.

    Vietnam will emerge as the second fastest-growing production hub for cars in Southeast Asia after the Philippines between 2017 and 2021, according to BMI Research, a part of Fitch Group.

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  • Vietnam’s top taxi firm sees investment follow divestment

    Vietnam’s top taxi firm sees investment follow divestment

    Soon after a Singaporean fund divested its entire stock in Vietnam’s top taxi firm Vinasun, a domestic securities firm stepped in to fill the gap.

    The Ho Chi Minh Securities Corporation (HSC), a professional securities brokerage and equities firm in Vietnam, has announced that it bought 7.2 million shares of Vinasun on May 25, the same day that Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC exited.

    It is estimated that HSC has spent about VND104 billion ($4.5 million) to acquire 10.6 percent of Vinasun’s equity, making it the third largest shareholder of the taxi firm, behind TAEL Partners fund, which owns 18.3 percent, and Vinasun CEO Dang Phuoc Thanh, who owns over 35 percent.

    On May 25, GIC had negotiated the sale of 5.4 million shares, or around 8 percent of its stake in Vinasun, for around VND80 billion ($3.5 million), less than half the price it paid four years ago.

    The divestment followed lackluster performance by the taxi company, which had seen its share value plunge. The company has blamed its woes on “unfair competition” from foreign ride-hailing service companies.

    Ride-hailing services Grab and Uber arrived in Vietnam in 2014, launching both car and motorbike taxi services. The two services have been running on a trial basis since early 2016, cutting deep into the earnings of traditional taxi drivers.

    Many taxi firms have accused Grab and Uber of unfair competition, saying their businesses have suffered and thousands of drivers have had to quit. Currently, Vietnam is investigating Grab’s acquisition of Uber, saying there are signs of antitrust law infringement in the deal.

    Vinasun has targeted revenues of VND2.16 trillion ($94.9 million) and after-tax profits of VND95 billion ($4.18 million) this year, 50 percent less than in 2017 and the lowest target in nine years.

    By the end of 2017, Vinasun had whittled down its staff to just 7,117, a decrease of 10,000 people from the beginning of the year. In the first three months this year, it lost another 120 employees.

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  • Vietjet to launch Zero Fare Tickets promo, again

    Vietjet to launch Zero Fare Tickets promo, again

    If the weekday blues are getting you down, fret not as fast growing Vietnamese carrier – Vietjet is offering the ultimate midweek pick-me-up with its latest zero fare ticket promotion.

    Starting today until 8 June 2018, the airline is offering 400,000 tickets priced from only VND0 as part of its ongoing ‘Free up Your Summer with Vietjet’ campaign. The promotional tickets are applicable on all international routes to Seoul (South Korea); Hong Kong; Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung, Tainan (Taiwan); Singapore; Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai (Thailand); Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Yangon (Myanmar); Phnom Penh, Siem Reap (Cambodia) for travels between 1 August to 31 December 2018 (excluding national holidays).

    These tickets are available for booking during the golden window of 1pm – 3pm (local time) daily at Vietjet website.

  • MINISO looks to expand in Vietnam market

    MINISO looks to expand in Vietnam market

    Miniso Vietnam plans to open 50 more stores by the end of this year and reach 400 by 2022.

    The discount retail chain plans to enhance its distribution system in Vietnam with a 10,000 sqm warehouse in Ho Chi Minh City which will open within a few months. That will provide strong support for stores and a planned online operation.

    Miniso Vietnam also has boosted its brand-name awareness among young consumers by having local singer Son Tung M-TP as its first brand ambassador.

    The company entered Vietnam in September 2016 and has already opened 40 stores there – 17 in Ho Chi Minh, 19 stores in Hanoi, and four elsewhere. It is rapidly rolling out stores to cash in on Vietnam’s current 10.9 per cent annual retail sales growth, which makes the country one of the fastest-growing retail markets in the world.

    The company says it recognises Vietnamese shoppers are moving from high-street shops to shopping centres and so it is adjusting its expansion strategy to include more malls.

    It has reached an agreement with Vincom to open stores in the mall operator’s future developments in major commercial and shopping centres.

    Products are priced between VND43,000 (US$2) and VND500,000, predominantly targeting consumers aged 18 to 35.

    The brand has been accused of misleading consumers by describing itself as a Japanese brand when it is a Chinese company, owned by Chinese and selling products made in China with no apparent Japanese connection.

    But that has not stopped it from opening more than 2600 stores worldwide, covering more than 62 countries and regions. Last year, its sales topped US$1.8 billion.

    The company plans to open 10,000 stores throughout the world by 2022.

  • VN urged to focus on local branding

    VN urged to focus on local branding

    Speaking at a seminar on connecting businesses in ASEAN member countries organised by the High Quality Vietnamese Goods Business Association on the sidelines of the Thaifex expo in Bangkok last week, Pascal Billaud, CEO of Thailand’s Central Food Retail Group and Asian GI ambassador to the UN, said Thailand has educated people about the impacts and benefits of GI.

    They are regularly updated on GI, ways to protect GI products and preserving and sustaining local eco-systems so that GI products can continue to be produced in that particular area or region, he said.

    He said GI is very important to farmers and they need to register their produce for GI protection with relevant agencies.

    Origin-linked registration also substantially increases the price of the final product, he said.

    A kilogramme of Cambodia’s Kampot black pepper fetches 15 USD against 6 USD for Thai pepper and only $5.04 for Vietnamese pepper, he said.

    This means Vietnam has not done well in exploiting GI and other benefits, he said.

    According to experts, GI provides consumers with information about the origin of a product and its unique characteristics such as taste, colour, texture, and quality, and so they are willing to pay higher prices.

    Thirty leading Vietnamese food and beverage companies, who are members of the High Quality Vietnamese Goods Business Association, showcased organic and other food meeting global standards and GI-protected products at the expo in Bangkok from May 29 to June 2.

    At a business matching event, Huynh Nguyen Khang Duy, import-export director at Pham Nghia Food JSC of Can Tho, said: “This is the first time we showcase our products (clown knife-fish-based products) abroad.”

    Vietnam mainly exports tra and basa and clown-knife fish costs more than them.

    Many customers from Australia, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia were interested in his company’s products, Duy said.

    “We hope to take our boneless clown-knife fish and clown-knife fish paste products to Hong Kong and Japan.

    “We are also working to obtain Halal certification for export to the Middle East.”

    CP (Thailand) wants to distribute his products in the Thai market, he said.

    “I think if we want to take our products to the world or region, we also need to have capable and prestigious partners.”

    Le Thanh Diem, head of Tan Sang Food Powder Company’s sales division, said: “Before the business matching event, I surveyed the prices of products and found that our prices are appropriate.”

    Thai companies sought assurances her company could supply large volumes, she said.

    Norachai Ratanabanchuen, assistant to the deputy general director of CP Foods, said he had held discussions with four Vietnamese firms.

    While Vietnamese goods are of rather good quality, to be able to enter the CP distribution system, products must meet many quality standards, including HACCP and ISO.

    Vietnam and Thailand have many similar products, but Vietnamese suppliers can still compete, he said, citing the example of basa fish, which his company imports from Vietnam.

    If Vietnamese firms continue to maintain good quality, comply with standards, and have reasonable prices, they can compete with their Thai counterparts, he said.

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  • Vietnam rice exports to China drop

    Vietnam rice exports to China drop

    Vietnam’s rice export sector is showing signs of reducing its dependence on China with other markets picking up the slack, according the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    In its monthly report for May, the ministry says that rice exports to China in the first four months of this year dropped to 33.5 percent of the total from 47.5 percent last year. The value of rice imported by China during this period fell 0.9 percent year on year to $370.8 million, it said.

    China still remains Vietnam’s top importer of rice.

    However, while the Chinese market shrinks, other markets in Asia are increasing their intake from Vietnam. Rice imported by Indonesia during the first four months went up 333 times over the same period last year, Iraqi imports increased by over 16 times, that of Malaysia tripled, of Hong Kong increased 41.5 percent and that of Singapore,15.7 percent.

    With the Philippines planning to import over 293,000 tons of Vietnamese rice in the coming months, rice export prices will stay positive, the report said.

    Last year, Vietnam exported almost 5.9 million tons of rice worth $2.66 billion. This number is likely to reach 6.7 million tons this year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

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